On September 8, 2016, the United States Department of Education and the United States Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (“COPS”) jointly released new guidance regarding school resource officer programs. The new Safe School-based Enforcement through Collaboration, … Read more

In a ruling sure to reverberate on college campuses across the nation, a California appeals court unanimously reversed the trial court’s ruling in Doe v. Univ. of Southern California. In Doe, a student (“Doe”) sued the University of … Read more

The past two years have seen considerable attention, on both the federal and state level, on the issue of student discipline. Specifically, the disparate impact student suspensions and expulsions have on students of color. In January 2014, the Departments of … Read more

Among the many legislative changes from the most recent session of the General Assembly, one involves modifications to the rules for student suspensions and expulsions. Specifically, Public Act 15-96 restricts the ability of school districts to expel or give out-of-school … Read more

Bullying in general, and cyberbullying in particular, have been the focus of considerable legislative activity in recent years. What was once the exclusive province of schools and school districts, the task of addressing bullying in schools has moved from detentions … Read more

A study presented on May 4 at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting concluded that victims of bullying have brought an estimated 200,000 firearms and knives onto school campuses nationwide. The study’s conclusion was based on data collected and analyzed … Read more

A Pennsylvania high school student is suing the Central York school district in Pennsylvania for his suspension for a Facebook post he wrote on his personal computer. The student, identified as R.L. in the lawsuit, alleges that school officials used … Read more

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit has unanimously upheld the discipline of a Michigan high school student who tweeted a threat to stab another student and brought a steak knife to school.… Read more

The Connecticut Department of Education (CDE) recently released a report on the use of restraint and seclusion by Connecticut public schools in the 2012-13 school year. According to the report, there were 33,742 separate incidents of restraint and seclusion of … Read more

Two former high school lacrosse players have filed suit in federal court alleging that their Maryland high school violated their constitutional rights to due process and protections against unreasonable searches. According to the Washington Post, they allege that Talbot County … Read more

A lawsuit has recently been filed in Oregon against the Scappoose School District by a member of the school dance team and her mother. According to the Oregonian, the student seeks to permanently enjoin the school district from enforcing … Read more

On November 30, 2012 at 1:00 p.m., Attorneys Jessica Ritter and jsoufer will examine teacher and student use of social media and social networking, and the intersection of individual rights with the school’s authority to regulate the school environment. During … Read more

A New York Appellate Court has ruled that a student can be suspended for making threats on school grounds without a showing that the student had the intention to carry out the expressed conduct. See R. v. Steiner, No. … Read more

In a decision issued on October 31, 2011, the United States Supreme Court denied review of an appeal from Avery Doninger in her free speech claim against her former Connecticut school district. See 642 F.3d 334 (2nd Cir. 2011), … Read more

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a decision concluding that Region 10 school officials were entitled to qualified immunity as to a former student’s claims that they had violated her First Amendment rights by not allowing her to … Read more

In an outrageous case of assault, and possibly bullying, several students at a New Hampshire high school were arrested for allegedly tattooing an indecent phrase and picture on the buttocks of a 14 year-old freshman without the freshman’s consent. The … Read more

A recent ruling from a Superior Court judge in Massachusetts suggests that parents may have a cause of action against public school officials for their failure to protect students against bullying. The case involved a middle school student who alleged … Read more

In a January 12, 2010 post, we summarized the conflicting decisions coming from courts in cases involving student discipline based on off-campus Internet postings. That post is available here. On February 4, 2010, the United States Court of Appeals … Read more

Oregon, Nebraska and Pennsylvania are the only remaining states to prohibit religious clothing in public schools. But Oregon has taken the first step in lifting the ban in a vote on House Bill 3686. Proponents of the bill praise … Read more

On Friday January 15, 2010, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals (the federal appeals court for New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware) heard oral argument in Miller v. Skumanick, a case involving “sexting.” This practice, which has become increasingly popular … Read more

In June 2008, one of our School Law Alerts discussed a Connecticut case in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a school district’s decision to discipline a student based on the student’s off-campus posting … Read more

In Texas, the mother of an intermediate school student is suing the Klein Independent School District, claiming that the Assistant Principal illegally searched her daughter’s cell phone. According to the complaint, the intermediate student was showing a text message to … Read more

A recent article in the New York Times explores the difficulty schools and school districts have had drafting and applying dress code policies in light of students’ gender identities. This is an issue that has been increasingly difficult for schools … Read more

Stay Connected

About our firm

With more than 175 attorneys in offices throughout Connecticut, New York and in Washington, DC, we serve the needs of local, regional, national and international clients. Our clients include public and private companies, institutions, government entities, non-profit organizations and individuals.